EIT - Walter Greenleaf

Behavioral Neuroscientist and Medical Technology Developer, Stanford University


Walter Greenleaf is a behavioral neuroscientist and a medical technology developer working at Stanford University. With over three decades of research and development experience in the field of medical virtual reality technology, Walter is considered a leading authority in the field. Dr. Greenleaf has designed and developed numerous clinical systems over the last twenty-seven years, including products in the fields of: surgical simulation, 3D medical visualization, telerehabilitation, clinical informatics, clinical decision support, point-of-care clinical data collection, ergonomic evaluation technology, automatic sleep-staging systems, psychophysiological assessment, and simulation-assisted rehabilitation technologies, as well as products for behavioral medicine.

As a research scientist, Dr. Greenleaf’s focus has been on age-related changes in cognition, mood and behavior. His early research was on age-related changes in the neuroendocrine system and the effects on human behavior. He served as the Director for the Mind Division, Stanford Center on Longevity, where his focus was on age-related changes in cognition. He is currently a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Stanford University’s MediaX Program, a Visiting Scholar at Stanford University’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab, and Director of Technology Strategy for the University of Colorado National Behavioral Health Innovation Center.

As a medical technology developer, Dr. Greenleaf’s focus has been on computer supported clinical products, with a specific focus on virtual reality and digital health technology to treat Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Anxiety Disorders, Traumatic Brain Injury and Stroke, Addictions, Autism, and other difficult problems in behavioral and physical medicine.

Dr. Greenleaf founded and served as CEO for: Greenleaf Medical Systems, a business incubator; InWorld Solutions, a company specializing in the therapeutic use of virtual worlds for behavioral health care; and Virtually Better, a company that develops virtual environments for the treatment of phobias, anxiety disorders, and PTSD.  In addition to his research at Stanford University, Walter is Chief Science Advisor to Pear Therapeutics. He is a co-founder of Virtual Ventures and Cognitive Leap. He is a VR technology and neuroscience advisor to several early-stage medical product companies.

Walter has served as a scientific advisor and grant reviewer for the U.S. Public Health Service, National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institutes of Health (NIH), NASA and the U.S. Department of Education. He has served as a Principal Investigator for research grants funded by NIH and NASA. Dr. Greenleaf helped start the California State University Center for Disability Solutions and serves on the Board of Directors for the International Society of Virtual Rehabilitation.

Dr. Greenleaf earned a Doctorate in Neuro and Bio-Behavioral Sciences from the Stanford University School of Medicine, where he was awarded a NIMH Graduate Fellowship.